Conglutinin's Role In Bovine Tuberculosis

Bovine tuberculosis is an infectious disease mainly in livestock caused by Mycobacterium bovis and has had substantial economic impacts in the UK and worldwide. The primary organ targeted by M.bovis is the host lung and the bacterial infection is accompanied by a localized inflammation, resulting in the migration of different immune cells and leakage of serum proteins on the site of infection. Some of the first host molecules to be involved are collectins, which are soluble innate immune molecules that play an important role in targeting microbes. Conglutinin is an important member of collectin family, which is synthesized in the liver and is present in the serum and can be produced locally by neutrophil, dendritic and macrophage cells. As conglutinin is an important member of collectin found in cattle, therefore interesting to study the conglutinin role in the bovine tuberculosis. In this study we aim to investigate the host pathogen interaction between mycobacteria (M. bovis BCG and M. smegmatis) and macrophages (THP-1). …show more content…
coli. In this study we observed that recombinant conglutinin binds to mycobacteria (M. bovis BCG and M. smegmatis) in the presence of Ca2+. Previously conglutinin has been shown to possess growth inhibition activity against Gram-negative bacteria and also has antiviral effects against influenza A virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this study we observed the direct effect of the conglutinin to mycobacteria (M. bovis BCG and M. smegmatis) growth and we shown the bacteriostatic role of conglutinin in M. bovis BCG infection. According to our best knowledge this is the first time we shown the bacteriostatic effect of conglutinin to Gram-positive bacteria